HLS Weekly Round Up

Editor’s Note: This new series features a weekly round-up of interesting articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits related to the world of library school. Enjoy!

Becky

Two links of note this week. First, the shockingly disturbing and speech-defying new cover for Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Go look if you haven’t seen it yet, wash your eyes out, and then come back for a serious link.

Anna-Sophia

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I talked about Erin Leach‘s excellent post on Letters to a Young Librarian about moving past our technical services/public services divide and creating a Unified Library Scene? Well, she’s gone right out and created a collaborative blog space together with the fantastic Rachel Fleming and, hopefully, plenty of contributors to follow.

I really enjoyed this piece in the Atlantic by the archaeologists who recently unearthed a major Atari disposal site in New Mexico. I was particularly struck by their concept of landfill as corporate record, archival object as memento mori, and their stance against “fetishist fanboys who forget that context gives these games meaning.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d think someone had been doing their archival theory homework!

I’ve been taking it easy this week in the aftermath of ✫graduation✫, so I’ll just leave you with some eye candy: If you liked Nicole’s post on library buildings, you’ll enjoy Architizer’s array of library design projects from around the globe. Check out the fantastic Ad/Lib, which collects examples of library marketing; if your institution has a great campaign or fresh branding, submit! In need of some expert inspiration? Wallpaper* mag reports that the Bauhaus-Archiv in Berlin has recently released its first-ever corporate graphic identity and smartly links the new attention to branding to “the archive’s potential as a place of pilgrimage.”

Kara

This week my partner and I have been preparing to move into a new place (movers arrive tomorrow), so that’s really all that’s been on my mind. But I have made some time for library-news perusing. Here’s a thought provoking piece from Fast Company on community workspaces in public libraries How do readers feel about this? Interesting new innovation in the world of public libraries or mission creep? In the same vein, the Los Angeles library system has some really interesting offerings beyond the books that seem pretty cool. I’m a bit jealous. I also really enjoyed this interview in Library Journal. It kind of ties into my first two links, as they talk a bit about recreating library spaces around how patrons actually use the library. I had also never thought about how classification systems relate to brain function before reading this.

That’s all from me, send bubble wrap please.

Courtney

INALJ is not only a great resource for job-hunters, but it produces a large amount of diverse content that can be applicable to library students and librarians at any stage in their career, whether or not they are job searching. If it’s not already on your radar, be sure to add it now! Here are a couple of great articles from this week! Kate Kosturski’s Change Does Not and Will Not Suck was particularly appropriate because I work in a visual resources library housed in an art school that is under new leadership. A lot will be changing, and I know that some of my original plans and ideas for my position will not go into effect. However, I can sense that all of us – faculty, students, and staff – are ready for change and a fresh direction, so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. Just Say No by Marian Mays is a must-read for library students because graduate students are usually pressured into accepting every single opportunity that comes their way. The reality is that we simply cannot do it all and must learn how to prioritize so we can live a balanced life. I really struggle with this and have been planning to address this topic on the HLS blog. I thought Amelia Zavala Vander Heide’s Bumps, Bruises, and Blunders: Dealing with Embarrassing Moments at Work and on the Job Hunt was entertaining, but also tackles a very real and relatable topic. How many times have I forgotten to actually attach the document that my entire email is about? Too many to count, but Amelia will guide you through some of the embarrassing situations you may find yourself in at work, on the job hunt, and beyond.